


How they became who they are

by sansa_undergrind



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Codenames, Gen, Missing Scene, None - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-02
Packaged: 2018-03-28 17:44:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3863956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sansa_undergrind/pseuds/sansa_undergrind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A catchy codename is everything. It sucks that your friend’s little sister gets to pick it for you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How they became who they are

**Author's Note:**

> Set during training week at Xavier Mansion in First Class.

 

> _“...and we were thinking: you should be Professor X,” she points at Charles with emphasis before turning with a flurry towards Erik. “And you should be Magneto!”  
>  _
> 
> _“Exceptional...”_

  
Some evenings later, after the attack at the CIA has been dealt with and the young mutants have been moved to a safer Xavier Mansion, Charles and Erik are playing chess as it has lately become their custom.

One would expect Charles to win every single game, advantaged as he is by his gift, but the truth is that he would never dream of cheating by reading Erik’s mind, even if he hadn’t promised him not to without his explicit consent.

Plus Erik has a way of playing that is so subtle and apparently pointless, that Charles is never quite able to figure out what his strategy is until it is too late.

This night, though, Erik seems miles away from the game and Charles is all but writhing with curiosity. He wants desperately to peek inside his mind, just a superficial scan to be sure it isn’t anything serious. Is it Shaw? Is it the children? Could it be _him_?

“I was wondering…” Erik begins, pushing mindlessly his queen two spaces forward.

Charles lets him trail off, moving a rook towards Erik’s queen and setting up the trap.

“I was thinking about what Raven said the other day,” Erik starts again and to Charles’ astonishment he captures Charles’ rook with his queen, leaving the king completely uncovered.

“It must have been something extremely distressing, to make you actually forget how to properly play chess, my friend.” And by capturing Erik’s queen, he declares checkmate.

Erik frowns, looking down to the chessboard as if truly seeing it for the first time. With a sigh and a tilt of his wrist he sends all the metal pieces Charles bought him flying through the air and back inside their box.

Charles watches his face attentively, almost on the brink of breaking his promise and projecting himself inside of Erik’s mind. Even if he sort of doesn’t want to, because for some kind of reason he’s afraid he won’t like the thought of his sister and his friend together.

“I like your sister,” Erik tells him, not sure himself why. “She embodies perfectly the beauty that is our species.”

“We are all humans, Erik.”

“We are _mutants_ , Charles. And we should be proud of it.”

Charles makes a face. He doesn’t want to go down this road again, especially not with Erik and not when World War Three is just around the corner. He tells him so.

“You do know we’ll need to discuss this, sooner or later.” Erik leans back in his armchair, his eyes never leaving Charles’.

“I thought you wanted to talk about Raven.”

“Not about _Raven_ , about what Raven _said_ …” Charles raises an eyebrow when he sees the other man shift and look away.

“Which is...?”

“Our codenames.”

Charles can’t help but smile, relieved.

“I thought you considered the idea, wait how did you put it… ‘ _idiotic_ ’, I think was the adjective you picked.”

“I had time to think it over and I believe it would make sense.”

“Would it now?”

“Yes, because if we are to distinguish ourselves from the masses of non-mutants, we need some impressive and dignified names. I was thinking Steel Master.”

Charles is about to counter the first statement, but the second leaves him speechless for a moment or two, his mouth agape. “Steel… _Master_.”

“Or Iron Man.”

“Erik those ideas are horrible.”

“Maybe _you_ could help, instead of criticizing,” he pouts, crossing his arms over his chest.

Charles laughs, leaning his elbows on his knees and steepling his fingers in front of his face.

“Hmm, what would you say if I told you I really like Raven’s idea?”

Erik scoffs, waving a hand in front of his face. “You really think Magneto would leave an impressing memory in the people I’d meet?”

“You’re much too stubborn, my friend. You actually think it is a great name, but you won’t admit it because a child beat you to it.”

“I thought I’d asked you not to get in my head.”

“I didn’t. But thank you for proving me right, anyway.”

“Fine. Magneto it is then,” Erik smiles mischievously, “but only if you promise to pick up Professor X for me.”

“Dear me, that sounds awfully pompous.”

“Would you prefer Mind Lord? Or Telepatho?”

“Erik, if you ever have a child, please let the mother name it.”

**Author's Note:**

> It was 2011, X-Men: First Class came out in cinemas, it was the beginning of the end. Never before had I donned the shipping glasses so fiercely as during the viewing of this movie. My besties did nothing to stop my slow descent into fangirl madness; they actually endorsed it, as I recall it. This silly little drabble was just one of the by-products.
> 
> Find me on tumblr @ [blackbird-has-spoken](http://blackbird-has-spoken.tumblr.com)


End file.
